Impact of COVID-19 on mental health of the elderly

Authors

  • Joel Philip Department of Psychiatry, Neurocenter, Kochi, Kerala
  • Vinu Cherian Department of Community Medicine, SNIMS Chalakka, Kochi, Kerala

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20202513

Keywords:

Elderly, Mental health. Covid-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented effect on the lives of people, irrespective of social demographics. The elderly, however, face special challenges, and it is imperative that healthcare professionals identify and highlight their special needs so that they can be adequately protected and supported through these trying times. Unless care is taken, the elderly as a group may face significant fallout with regard to their mental and psychological wellbeing.

References

World Health organization. Mental Health Of Older Adults. 2017. Available at: https://www.who.int/ news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-of-older-adults. Accessed on 11 April 2020.

Andreas S, Schulz H, Volkert J, Dehoust M, Sehner S, Suling A, et al. Prevalence of mental disorders in elderly people: The European MentDis_ICF65 study. Br J Psychiatry. 2017;210(2):125-31.

Armitage R, Nellums LB. COVID-19 and the consequences of isolating the elderly. Lancet Public Health. 2020;5(5):e256.

Depoux A, Martin S, Karafillakis E, Preet R, Wilder-Smith A, Larson H. The pandemic of social media panic travels faster than the COVID-19 outbreak. J Travel Med. 2020;27(3):pii:taaa031.

Zhang J, Wu W, Zhao X, Zhang W. Recommended psychological crisis intervention response to the 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak in China: a model of West China Hospital. Precision Clin Med. 2020;3(1):3-8.

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Published

2020-05-27

How to Cite

Philip, J., & Cherian, V. (2020). Impact of COVID-19 on mental health of the elderly. International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, 7(6), 2435–2436. https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20202513

Issue

Section

Letter to the Editor